I noticed the same thing and had the opposite reaction.
"Social media is the world's brain hooked on dopamine - creating a permanent seizure"
Wow, what an insightful statement! Except it isn't. It's not even a statement. It's just different metaphors piled on top of each other until they nothing at all anymore.
"Entropic Abyss"
Lex Fridman actually asked for clarification here, but none came. Joscha fixed the mispronunciation, that's all. The phrase is completely meaningless.
"Closed Cooling Chain"
And that one is a bad translation from German "geschlossene Kuehlkette", meaning that your convenience food is frozen once at the factory and never warms up until it's in your microwave oven. It translates to "uninterrupted", not "closed".
I'm pretty disappointed by the onslaught of empty phrases and the dearth of insight or arguments.
> The mental image triggered by that sentence is funny and there is some truth to it.
Sure, but funny isn't insightful.
> I just looked up the words.
Words from one language don't map perfectly to those of another; idioms map even less well. Are you seriously trying to lecture me about idioms in my native tongue, German? Which happens to be Joscha's native tongue, too, which is probably the reason why some of his phrases sound insightful to you and like bad translations to me. Another example:
"A spirit is an operating system a brain runs on."
Apparently he tried to translate German "Geist", which could be "spirit", "ghost", or "mind". The appropriate translation is "mind", then it makes sense. The mistranslation to "spirit" makes it sound profound, unless you take the time to think about it. But you can't, because Joscha talks so fast.
Is that an established and commonly understood fact?
To me anything that provides some understanding to a complicated matter or situation can be insightful - even funny things.
What isn't insightful to you might be insightful to others. Don't forget not everyone is at the same level of understanding.
> Closed Cooling Chain vs Uninterrupted Cooling Chain
When he says 'Closed' - it implies that it's uninterrupted. Have you ever heard of the term 'Closed Circuit'? Same thing.
I prefer his translation. It's simpler and sounds better (to me).
> Apparently he tried to translate German "Geist", which could be "spirit", "ghost", or "mind"
Interesting. Did he use 'Geist' originally in his German presentation?
If he meant mind - why didn't he use the German word 'Verstand' - which seems to be a more accurate translation for mind. But you tell me, as this is your native tongue.
Maybe he wants to add some colour to his talks?
If so, then I think spirit is totally fine to me. It doesn't make it sound anymore profound. I would say it makes it more interesting. And maybe the other reason why he used the word spirit and not mind, might be to cater to a certain audience, e.g. the viewers for the chaos computer club videos might appreciate sci-fi like Ghost in the Shell. You wouldn't say Mind in the Shell. Sounds dry and boring (to me). But spirit has a more positive connotation vs Ghost - another reason why he might have chosen that word in the quote you mentioned.
Joscha seems to have a knack for this - explaining things in a simple, interesting and entertaining way. Just look at all the comments on the various videos he appears in.
You might already have a deep understanding of the topics he talks about, but not everyone has.
> Have you ever heard of the term 'Closed Circuit'? Same thing.
Of course I've heard of it! Very much not the same thing. The cooling chain is open at both ends. It isn't closed like a circuit, it is still called "geschlossen", which is exactly why I'm trying to tell you it's a mistranslation and "uninterrupted" conveys the actual meaning much better.
> why didn't he use the German word 'Verstand'
To sound "spiritual", literally, so he can connect with religious nutters instead of just nerds. What do I know of his motivations?
"Social media is the world's brain hooked on dopamine - creating a permanent seizure"
Wow, what an insightful statement! Except it isn't. It's not even a statement. It's just different metaphors piled on top of each other until they nothing at all anymore.
"Entropic Abyss"
Lex Fridman actually asked for clarification here, but none came. Joscha fixed the mispronunciation, that's all. The phrase is completely meaningless.
"Closed Cooling Chain"
And that one is a bad translation from German "geschlossene Kuehlkette", meaning that your convenience food is frozen once at the factory and never warms up until it's in your microwave oven. It translates to "uninterrupted", not "closed".
I'm pretty disappointed by the onslaught of empty phrases and the dearth of insight or arguments.